Saving Scott

15. "A mental breakdown?"

(3/17 - I rewrote Ch 12. Since JJ and LL will be re-published, I've taken the time to change some things. The first being that Scott didn't move back in with his parents.)

Without being Scott White: Center of Bridgewood Academy's Entire World, I fell out of touch with what was going on in the rumor mill.

Juliet didn't.

By October there were pictures of her hanging up around the school that had been crudely photoshopped to look like they'd been taken at a strip club, and somebody somewhere had managed to get into a club and scribble her name on a bathroom stall. We weren't sure what it said - probably 'call for a good time' or 'down for threesomes' if the calls she got were any indication.

Mr. James changed her phone number and the school had an assembly about bullying, but when winter break hit, Juliet was done.

***

"Why aren't you ready?" Lakyn asked, letting himself into Juliet's room. She was standing in front of her closet, still in her pajamas, but her hair was done and her make-up was on. I waited in the doorway, leaning on the frame while I watched her.

"I can't decide what to wear," she muttered. She was staring at her clothes like they had wronged her somehow, "I hate tight clothes. They all fit too well."

Juliet grabbed a shirt and took it off the hanger before tossing it on the ground. Then she did another, then another. "All of them. They're all ... suffocating me."

Lakyn and I glanced at each other while we watched her go on a quiet rampage. She tore everything off the hangers - shirts, pants, dresses, skirts. Even her school uniform hit the ground. When she was done, she kicked them into some semblance of a pile, studied them, then went to her vanity and started emptying drawers full of jewelry.

"I hate all of this," she said. "I hate my fucking clothes and my fucking jewlery and ..." She paused in her mission and turned on Lakyn, grabbing his wrist and dragging him off her bed. Her comforter was faux fur, white tiger. It was lovely, but she dragged that off too, then went after the white sheets. After she had a pile of that too, she looked at her whole room, then sent her barefoot into her dresser. "I hate the color white."

Lakyn cracked up. It took me a moment to realize why, but then I thought of the posters covering his walls, the dark carpet on his floor, the way he glared at the school hallways. He hated it too.

Juliet watched him laugh, her chest heaving with all the physical work she'd put in, and snapped, "Well, are you going to help me or not!"

"I guess we're not going to the movies?" I asked.

"Not tonight," Lakyn answered. "Text Kaitlynn and Matty, we've got a lot of work to do."

Our friends came over, armed with sodas and snacks, and we got to work helping Juliet sort out her shit. Anything old, broken, or too worn went into the trash, but most of her things we boxed up and labled. When we were done, her room was bare, we were sweaty, but she looked content - if a little crazy.

"What in the world are you guys doing?" Mr. James asked. Over Kaitlynn's music, we hadn't heard him show up, but she paused her phone and we all stared at him for what felt like way too long.

"Helping Jules," I finally said.

Mr. James' eyebrows went up. "With what, exactly?"

"A mental breakdown?" Matt tried.

"Depression?" Lakyn guessed.

"Starting over," Kaitlynn said.

I just shrugged.